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The Anatomy of IronCAD's TriBall

IronCAD's TriBall interface has the distinction of being the very first
cursor in CAD that went beyond simple crosshairs. Back in 1995, when IronCAD
first launched under the name of Trispectives, the world had never before
seen a user interface this advanced. The TriBall acts as a very smart 3D
cursor, so smart that it should be considered a tool in its own right.
Indeed, it is a key feature of IronCAD software. In this article, I will
tell you about it, and through videos show off some of its unique
capabilities.

IronCAD is MCAD software that does parametric feature-based 3D modeling,
and is also well known for its innovative part design where it can mix both
parametric and direct face modeling allowing the best of both capabilities
to be used.

It's Not Only a Positioning Tool

The simplest way to describe IronCAD's TriBall is that it is a
positioning tool for moving elements into and around the model. OK, fine,
but it is much more than just that. The TriBall is also very effective for
editing models imported from different CAD systems. In this case, the
TriBall aids us in direct modeling operations and history-free editing. We
use it for moving holes, drafting or moving faces, and so on. I will get to
an example of this later in this article.

For now, though, let's take a look at what the TriBall consists of, and
break down the components (see figure 1).

Figure
1: The anatomy of IronCAD's TriBall interactive cursor

After right-clicking on the inner orientation handles of the TriBall,
there are many options available for very precise positioning. Listed below
in figure 2 is a table of the specific positioning behaviors (which I
extracted from IronCAD's help pages). From this, we can see that the TriBall
handles manipulations, such as alignment and mirroring.

Figure
2: TriBall positioning options

Additional TriBall Functions

The TriBall is not only a positioning tool, for there are many more
documented functions. It can be used for assembly mates, component patterns,
and so on. I want to highlight two important ones:

F10 key toggles the TriBall on and off

Spacebar moves the TriBall independent of the selected object
(basically to relocate to a desired origin for the proposed positioning)

Shown below in the table are the hand gesture icons that we use while
operating the TriBall (see figure 3). Poking at the TriBall, pushing-pulling
faces, hand gestures - it's like we're inside the screen working on the
solid model with our hands.

Figure
3: TriBall gesture icons

TriBall in Action

With this background out of the way, let's see the TriBall in action. I
have put together a few videos to demonstrate it. Keep in mind that the
TriBall is not the only tool for performing these operations in IronCAD, but
it is the most versatile one.

In my first example, I will use the TriBall to replicate the containers
on a ship. Figure 4 shows before (a single container placed) and after the
operation (a ship filled with an array of containers).

Figure
4: TriBall used for patterning

The video is shown in figure 5, using TriBall for positioning or
patterning

Figure
5: Using the TriBall to construct a 3D Curve

Next, I would like to demonstrate for you how the TriBall creates and
positions 3D curves (see figure 6). These are useful for tasks in MCAD, such
as creating animation paths, placing cable and wire runs, or inserting
tubing and piping. The example shows how the TriBall is powerful in
manipulating in 3D space without the need for planes.

Figure
6: IronCAD linked to GrabCAD

The video is shown in figure 7, using TriBall for placing 3D curve.

Figure
7: Video of how TriBall places 3D curves

The final example I show is how to use the TriBall to directly edit
models in IronCAD - otherwise known as history-free editing (see figure 8).
Honestly, this function is what made IronCAD (nee Trispectives) famous
following its launch in the 1990s, along with the TriBall interface.

Figure
8: TriBall directly editing parts on a model

In the video shown in figure 9, I make some changes to the model. I move
a face, and then rotate the face - my favorite. This editing is being done
directly on the model, and is necessary due to this model being imported
from another CAD system - and so it has no history although this can also be
performed on native IRONCAD models as well.

Figure
9: TriBall being used for direct model editing

Summary

TriBall-style technology is showing up competing MCAD software programs
more and more, as CAD vendors mimic the head's-up approach pioneered by
IronCAD's predecessor. In my experience, though, the TriBall is a more
complete and versatile implementation of the tool. The TriBall is a very
effective and versatile tool for positioning of components, alignment of
components, creation of new components and editing of imported models or
dumb solids. This article covers some of the basics concepts of the TriBall
however the advance cases it can handle for positioning and creation of
geometry is endless.